We took on a HUGE project this summer. A custom chicken coop for 15 ladies!!! These ladies are living it up in their tongue and groove cedar chicken coop with a GREENROOF!
Although this chicken coop is in Tacoma, WA (think RAIN), the location actually does get some extreme climate. We focused onusing as much rainwater runoff as we could with plantings, while also taking advantage of our planting locationto provide some insulationfrom these extreme temperatures. The greenroof is planted with drought tolerant sedums which will use up much of the rainwater. Once mature, the plants will also provide insulation from the summer heat and then in the winter help towards retaining the heat inside the coop.
The chickens even have an attached sheltered space that eases them into the outdoor climate before they enter their large open courtyard (ahem, I mean run). The sheltered run has a garden roof that provides an 'almost' pest-free area for growing vegetables for the family. Any garden clippings can then be given to the chickens. And to complete the cycle, any chicken manure can be composted and added to the garden roof as fertilizer.
And if you thought we ran out of places to grow veg, think again. There is also a custom trellis attached to the southern wall of the coop that is growing grapes...to feed individually to the chickens of course. Ok, just kidding! The grape trellis will help towards blocking the intense, low summer sun from heating up the inside of the chicken coop. The sloped greenroof lets any unused rainwater from the rooftop sedums to drip into the sheltered run and down to the grape trellis.
The chickens have their choice of 6 nesting boxes made of reclaimed Oceanspray cranberry boxes. There is a sexy sliding barn door for human access into the coop and the egg collection happens outside the coop so the owners don't have to get chicken poo on their feet when collecting eggs!
The chickens also have a nice surface to walk on inside the coop. We used mid-century concrete pavers for the floor and spaced them just enough to allow the water from a good coop-scrub-down to naturally percolate back into the soil. We used a layer of sand and gravel to infill this space and help with drainage. Naturally, chickens need bits of gravel/sand to help with digestion so this proved to have a dual purpose.
We are so pleased with the outcome and so are the chickens! I heard one laid a golden egg to help pay for the cost! Now we just need to find out which 1 out of the 15 laid that egg!
I have almost completed my prototype green roof chicken coop. So far no issues from taking my concept/design to construction. Granted, it's only a chicken coop! I will say it is taking longer to assemble than I had anticipated. I swear 1/2 of the time is spent painting! I bought an exterior paint with primer in it. I still have to do two coats of paint and I wanted to paint all the cut edges to limit the possibility of wood rot.
Kippen House is a joining of my dutch heritage and love of modern, dutch design with my curious interests in homesteading and urban farming. All in the form of urban garden chicken coops!
Check out theKippen House Swag! Everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs to canvas totes! Any graphic you see can be applied to any product. Just contact me for your request!
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